BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Birmingham police set a trap for burglars, and police said today the bad guys have taken the bait.

Investigators arrested seven people in the past month during a special Bait House operation designed to cut down on home and business break-ins. Using houses, apartments and businesses, burglary detectives, along with patrol officers, targeted various burglary hot-spots in the city and set up surveillance on the bait properties.

Police officials said the investigation is ongoing, and declined to release too many specifics about the initiative. Bait houses are a popular law enforcement tool in other cities. Typically the way they work is police outfit a vacant home or business with security equipment that will catch burglars red-handed.

That equipment might include video cameras, and sometimes even GPS tracking equipment attached to items targeted for theft, such as electronics and appliances.

Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams Jr. said most of the burglars arrested so far have been nabbed in the process of committing the burglary. In some cases, he said, they were identified from surveillance video and later arrested.

"We are utilizing all methods available to combat burglars in our community,'' Williams said. "We want burglars to understand that we are targeting them as they prey on our citizens' hard-earned property."